DENVER -- Two Denver men said their efforts to be good citizens cost them their jobs.

Paul Shoemaker and Mike McGee are both looking for new jobs.

They said they were fired from the Sprint store inside the Cherry Creek Mall after chasing a suspected shoplifter.

"It's going to be tough not going in everyday," said McGee.

The two told 7NEWS they were walking out of the store when they stumbled upon a security guard in the hall, clearly in need.

"(He) came right basically in front of us, and was like, 'Help me, Help me.' Out of breath. You could totally hear he was distraught," said Shoemaker.

The two then took off and helped to capture a man who allegedly shoplifted from the Apple store.

"It's the way I was raised as a kid. You see something that's going on wrong you step in and try to help whatever way you can," said McGee.

The men said the Sprint corporate policy is not to chase shoplifters. They argue they were on break and the suspected shoplifter wasn't even taking their merchandise.

"I can always find another job, but I can't get that opportunity back to help some one out,” said McGee

There have been similar cases before.

In 2009, two men were fired from a Best Buy in Broomfield. They were let go after they tackled a shoplifter taking cell phones.

7NEWS called Sprint to get their side of the story. A spokesperson said he can’t talk about it because of privacy concerns.